End of the road for Carbon Motors' E7 Cruiser program?

A rejected loan has forced the company who aspired to make the first built-for-police car to close down

By PoliceOne Staff

Carbon Motors has shuttered the E7 Police Cruiser program and closed down its plant in Ind., according to reports.

Last year, a $300M loan from the government was recanted as the result of the termination of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program.

From infrared cameras to license plate recognition software, and even a front seat designed to accommodate an officer’s utility belt, the E7 Police Cruiser was billed as the perfect police vehicle, inside and out.

Before it closed its doors, Vice President Stacy Stephens, who is also a former Dallas-Fort Worth police officer, showed the tech company Translogic the ins and outs of the vehicle.

“What’s most appalling to me, as a police officer, is nobody ever goes back and recertifies the vehicle as safe [after equipment has been added],”Stephens said, explaining his mission to build a ‘purpose-built’ police car.

The steering wheel of the E7 accessed a push-to-talk two-way radio, making every task possible at the driver’s fingertips.

The side panels of the car are made with ballistic shields, and built-in lights allows 360 degree lighting and video.

Connersville Mayor Leonard Urban told The New York Times last month that all the principals have left the company.

Efforts by the newspaper to reach Carbon Motors executives by telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful. The company has shut down its Web site.